(music plays)

A caption reads "TVO Kids and Riverbank pictures original."
[LAUGHTER]

(music plays)

Wearing a mask, Akin walks in his room.

Akin is in his early teens, with slightly long braided brown hair and wears jeans and a yellow sweater.

Akin's room is full of colourful furniture, has different colour walls, a black and white checkered floor, pink curtains, and a neon sign that reads "Fellings" behind a couch.

He says OH HEY, IT'S ME AKIN.
THE HOST OF HOW DO YOU FEEL?
I'M SURE YOU'RE FEELING A LOT
THESE DAYS.
WE ALL ARE, AND THAT'S OKAY.
I WANTED TO TELL YOU THAT MY
FRIENDS AND I FILMED THE SHOW
BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, SO EVEN
THOUGH WE'RE NOT WEARING MASKS,
OR PHYSICALLY DISTANCING, IT'S
STILL VERY IMPORTANT.
SO IF YOU'RE IN A SITUATION
WHERE YOU NEED TO
PHYSICALLY DISTANCE, BUT YOU
CAN'T, PUT ON YOUR MASK.
IT'LL HELP KEEP YOU AND YOUR
FRIENDS SAFE.
WHICH FEELS GREAT!
ENJOY THE SHOW!

In animation, the opening of the show rolls.

As the sun comes up between the mountains, colourful letters with different mood facial expressions form the name of the show. It reads "How do you feel?"

A song goes SOME DAYS YOU MIGHT BE HAPPY
AND SOME DAYS YOU MIGHT BE MAD
OTHER DAYS THEY START OFF
RIGHT
BUT THEN YOU WENT UPSET
BUT IT'S OKAY
CUZ WE WANNA KNOW
HOW DO YOU FEEL?
YEAH, HOW DO YOU FEEL?

(music plays)

Akin kneels over a giant world map and says HMM, JONAH'S IN B.C.,
MY FRIEND CHASE, SHE'S IN
GUATEMALA,
AND MY UNCLE MARK, HE'S ALL THE
WAY IN TANZANIA.
I'M CREATING A FRIENDSHIP MAP
THAT CHARTS WHERE ALL MY
FRIENDS LIVE.
THAT STICKER'S FOR YOU!
FRIENDS ARE THE BEST, BUT
SOMETIMES EVEN THOUGH WE REALLY
DON'T WANT IT TO HAPPEN, A
FRIEND HAS TO MOVE AWAY
AND WE CAN'T SEE OR TALK TO THEM
AS MUCH ANYMORE.
THAT CAN FEEL LIKE A PIECE OF US
IS MOVING AWAY TOO.
TAKE MY FRIEND AISHA, WHOSE
BESTEST, BESTEST FRIEND
HAD TO MOVE AWAY.
HERE, LET ME TELL YOU MORE.

(music plays)

An animation rolls as Akin tells the story.

Akin says AISHA AND HER BEST FRIEND WERE
LIKE SISTERS FOR FOUR YEARS,
THEY DID EVERYTHING TOGETHER.
HOMEWORK, MOVIES, EATING
BREAKFAST, EVERYTHING!
WAS MOVING AWAY
AISHA WAS SHOCKED!
SHE FELT HELPLESS AND SMALL.
'WHAT IF HER FRIEND MOVED TO A
NEW CITY AND FORGOT ABOUT HER?'
AISHA THOUGHT, 'WHAT AM I GOING
TO DO WITHOUT HER?'
SHE BEGGED HER FRIEND TO STAY
EVEN THOUGH SHE KNEW THE MOVE
WAS GONNA HAPPEN.
AISHA WONDERED HOW SHE COULD
KEEP HER FRIENDSHIP ALIVE,
SHE THOUGHT SHE COULD USE HER
MOM'S PHONE TO TEXT,
OR VISIT ONCE IN A WHILE.
AISHA WANTED TO MAKE IT WORK.

(music plays)

Akin now talks on the phone and says HEY DUANE, ARE YOU ON
YOUR WAY?
GREAT!
THANK YOU FOR SHARING WITH
US AISHA.
IT'S HARD WHEN YOUR FRIEND
MOVES AWAY.
CHANGE CAN BE DIFFICULT AND
IT SOUNDS LIKE
YOU TRIED YOUR BEST TO
STAY CLOSE.
SPEAKING OF CLOSE, MY
BUDDY DUANE
SHOULD BE HERE ANY SEC...

Duane storms in.

Duane is in his thirties, with short straight black hair and wears jeans, a bright orange T-shirt and an unbuttoned purple shirt.

Duane says HEY BUDDY!

Akin says DUANE! FANTASTIC!
SO, AISHA'S BEST
FRIEND MOVED AWAY
AND IT'S BEEN REALLY
DIFFICULT.

Duane says IT SOUNDS LIKE AISHA
AND HER BEST FRIEND
SHARE A SPECIAL
CONNECTION
AND IT'S REALLY SAD THAT
SHE MOVED AWAY.

Akin says AISHA AND HER FRIEND
LIVE FAR APART,
WHAT CAN THEY DO TO KEEP
THEIR FRIENDSHIP CLOSE?

Duane says WELL, AISHA MAY WANT TO
START BY COMMUNICATING
HER FEELINGS WITH
HER BEST FRIEND.
I'M SURE THAT COMMUNICATION
PLAYED A ROLE
IN THE TWO OF THEM
BECOMING SO CLOSE.
THROUGH HER CONVERSATION,
AISHA MAY LEARN
THAT JUST AS SHE MIGHT
MISS HER FRIEND,
HER FRIEND MIGHT HAVE
SIMILAR FEELINGS TOO.

Akin says I BET AISHA'S FRIEND
MISSES HER A LOT.
CAN THEY WORK TOGETHER TO
STAY IN TOUCH?

Duane says AISHA AND HER BEST FRIEND
MIGHT WANT TO COME UP
WITH A GAME PLAN TO NOT
ONLY REMAIN CLOSE
BUT TO CONTINUE TO BUILD
THEIR FRIENDSHIP.
THAT MEANS ARRANGING WHEN
TO MAKE PHONE CALLS,
SHARING EMAILS, THEY CAN
EVEN MAKE ARRANGEMENTS
TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS
ONLINE FACE TO FACE.
THEY MAY ALSO WANT TO TAKE A
PICTURE OF ONE ANOTHER
AND THEN KEEP IT IN A
SPECIAL PLACE,
THAT WAY THEY'LL ALWAYS
FEEL CLOSE.

Akin says AISHA FELT HELPLESS WHEN SHE
FOUND OUT
THAT HER FRIEND WAS
MOVING AWAY.

Duane says I CAN UNDERSTAND IF AISHA FOUND
HERSELF FEELING HELPLESS.
WE CAN'T CONTROL EVERYTHING
THAT HAPPENS AROUND US,
BUT WE DO HAVE THE
ABILITY TO
MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO
THOSE SITUATIONS.

Akin says I HOPE YOU NEVER MOVE AWAY,
BUT IF YOU DO,
WE'RE GOING TO STAY
FRIENDS, RIGHT?

Duane says ABSOLUTELY!

(music plays)
(TOGETHER)

They do a cool handshake.

Akin says YEAH!

(music plays)
[FANFARE]

(music plays)

Now Akin sits in the basement with his friends and says I TOTALLY GET WHERE AISHA IS
COMING FROM.
HAVING SOMEONE TO TALK TO
EVERY DAY
IS THE BEST BECAUSE SHARING
IS IMPORTANT!
RIGHT GUYS?

They all say YEAH!

Akin says HOW DID AISHA'S STORY MAKE
YOU FEEL?

Ron is around 11, with short wavy brown hair and wears glasses, jeans, and a gray sweater.

He says AISHA'S STORY MADE ME FEEL SAD
AS SHE WAS EXPERIENCING THAT
AS HER FRIEND WAS MOVING AWAY
SINCE I WAS MOVING AWAY
FROM MY FRIEND AND I WAS REALLY
SAD WHEN I HAD TO DO THAT.

Akin says DO ANY OF YOU GUYS HAVE
BEST FRIENDS?

Sha'niya is around 11, with mid-length curly brown hair in a 3-pigtail hairdo. She wears jeans, a red sweater with sequins on the front and a denim jacket.

She says I HAVE A BFFL.
HER NAME'S FAITH.

Akin says WHAT DOES BFFL STAND FOR?

Sha'niya BEST FRIEND FOR LIFE.
CAUSE IT'S LIKE MY BEST FRIEND
FOR LIFE, LIKE IS MY LIFE.
IF I DON'T HAVE HER THEN
I'LL JUST FEEL SAD
THE REST OF MY LIFE.

Akin says ZOHA DO YOU HAVE A
BEST FRIEND?

Zoha is around 10, with shoulder-length straight brown hair and wears white tights, and a yellow sweater.

Zoha says I HAVE A BEST FRIEND
THAT'S NAMED ZYA
AND WE HAVE SO MUCH
IN COMMON
AND WE ALWAYS HANG
OUT TOGETHER
AND PLAY AT RECESS
AND WE HAVE SO MUCH
PLAYDATES TOGETHER,
I LOVE PLAYING WITH HER.

Akin says HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE A
CLOSE FRIEND?

Ron says IT FEELS REALLY NICE
FOR ME BECAUSE
I KNOW IF I'M FEELING BAD OR
IF I'M GETTING BULLIED,
I KNOW THE CLOSE FRIEND WOULD
EITHER TRY AND HELP ME
OR TRY AND STAND UP TO
THE BULLY
IF THEY WERE TRYING TO
HURT ME.

Sha'niya says IT FEELS GOOD BECAUSE
WHEN YOU'RE MAD OR
IN YOUR OWN FEELINGS YOU HAVE
SOMEONE TO TALK TO
AND THEN YOU JUST LET IT OUT AND
THEN YOU JUST,
IT JUST FEELS GOOD.

Akin says DO YOU GUYS THINK THAT AISHA
AND HER BEST FRIEND
ARE GONNA STAY FRIENDS?

Zoha says I THINK THAT THEY WILL STILL BE
BEST FRIENDS JUST BECAUSE
THEY CAN COMMUNICATE BY LIKE
MANY DIFFERENT WAYS
SO THAT THEY'LL STILL BE
BEST FRIENDS
AND THEY'LL STILL HAVE
SOMETHING IN CONTACT.

Akin says IS THERE ANYTHING YOU GUYS
WANT TO TELL AISHA?

Zoha says I WOULD SAY THAT, UM, LIKE
SHE HAS TO MAKE LIKE
NEW BEST FRIENDS AND SHE HAS
TO HOPE FOR THE BEST.

Ron says I WOULD ALSO SAY IT WOULD BE
OKAY FOR HER TO MAKE
NEW FRIENDS AND I WOULD ALSO
LIKE FOR HER TO FIND
A NEW WAY TO COMMUNICATE
WITH HER FRIEND.

Sha'niya says HONESTLY, WHAT I WOULD SAY TO
HER, I WOULD SAY,
'I COULD BE YOUR BEST FRIEND'
AND I COULD SAY,
'I HOPE YOU CAN FIND YOUR BEST
FRIEND AGAIN'.

Akin says DO YOU GUYS WANT TO SAY HI TO
YOUR BEST FRIENDS?

They all say YEAH!

Akin says 3, 2, 1.

Akin says say HI CHASE! I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN
SO LONG.
[MULTIPLE GREETINGS]

Akin says IT'S BEEN SO NICE TALKING
TO YOU.

(music plays)

Back in his room, Akin paints a plant pot and says ALL DONE.
PHEW, THIS TOOK A LOT OF WORK,
BUT MY FRIEND IS GOING TO
LOVE THIS.
YOU SEE...

He trips and drops the pot. The pot breaks.

He says NO!
THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING!
ALL THIS HARD WORK!
THIS CANNOT BE REAL!
AKIN WAKEUP! WAKEUP!
HAVE YOU EVER MADE A MISTAKE
AND YOU'RE REALLY HARD
ON YOURSELF AFTER?
MAYBE YOU BREAK SOMETHING OR YOU
DO POORLY ON A TEST
AND YOU FEEL STRESSED OR ANGRY
BECAUSE YOU WISH
THE RESULTS WERE DIFFERENT.
WHEN THAT HAPPENS TO ME, I TRY
PRACTICING SOMETHING
CALLED RADICAL ACCEPTANCE.
THAT MEANS ACCEPTING THAT THE
MISTAKE HAPPENED,
IT CAN'T BE CHANGED, AND
EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE OKAY.

(music plays)
I TELL MYSELF, 'WELL AKIN, THE
POT BROKE'.
'YOU CAN'T CHANGE IT BUT
YOU CAN TRY
AND DO BETTER IN THE
FUTURE'.
IT HELPS ME FROM GETTING SAD
OR STRESSED
AND I CAN FOCUS ON PICKING
UP THE PIECES.

He sweeps up the pieces.

(music plays)

Back in the basement, he says AISHA, THANK YOU FOR SHOWING
US THAT EVEN
IF YOUR FRIEND MOVES AWAY AND IT
FEELS PAINFUL,
THEY CAN STILL BE WITH US.
THE GANG AND I WANT TO FACETIME
ONE OF OUR FRIENDS
BUT WE DON'T HAVE PHONES,
BUT THAT WON'T STOP US.

They all set up an antenna to the TV to connect with friends.

Akin says SHE'S READY TO TEST.
THREE, TWO, ONE!
[ELECTRICAL ZAP]

They all wave at the screen and say HI!

(music plays)

Music plays as the end credits roll.

Copyright 2020, Riverbank Pictures.